LOGINIt was so dark that Aria could barely make out her surroundings. All around her, the shadows of trees twisted and clawed at the darkness, resembling the man-eating demons from ancient legends.Aria was only human, and the unknown still filled her with fear. Yet here she was, alone in a deep and dangerous mountain forest, and not once did she think of turning back.She had to find Landon. She would never leave him here alone. She had to bring him home.She moved slowly, each step taking everything she had left. Weakness and fatigue engulfed her body, and her vision kept darkening. Whenever it did, she would stop and brace herself against a tree to catch her breath. Once the dizziness passed, she forced herself forward again.She had no idea how long she had been walking. The ache in her chest burned, and her breathing turned ragged and uneven. Her throat felt so dry it almost burned. When she licked her cracked lips, she tasted a faint hint of blood. She must have broken the skin
Landon's energy well had collapsed and rebuilt itself more times than he could count. Each time it came back smaller than before, but there was something tougher about it now. It was as if the life force holding it together had fused into the foundation.The pain never let up. It went through his body and his soul, through muscle and bone, tearing at every inch of him over and over. He bit down on gums that had no flesh left on them, and when his jawbone cracked, he still didn't make a sound. He shoved all the agony, exhaustion, and despair down as far as it would go. The only thing he held onto was Aria. She was the reason he was still breathing, and that was all he needed. He could feel her from a thousand miles away. Her worry, her fear, the way she missed him so badly it had sunk into her bones. That connection between them held him like a line tied to his soul, and every time he came close to slipping away for good, it pulled him back. The spring in the sanctuary had turned
The lights in the VIP ward had been turned down low. Warm lamplight spread across the white bedding, but it couldn't touch the cold knot of worry sitting in Aria's chest. She'd stopped asking questions. But the dread had already taken root somewhere deep and was spreading through her like vines, winding tighter until she could barely breathe. Her eyes were red and dry, and every blink stung. Yet, she didn't notice it. Every thought and every scrap of focus of hers was locked on the phone in her hands. The cold metal frame pressed against her burning palm. The screen lit up and threw light across her pale, drawn face. She opened her contacts and found Landon's name. Her fingers were shaking so badly she could barely hit the right spot on the screen. In fact, her nails had gone white from how hard she was pressing. She tapped the call button again and again. The dial tone rang out through the quiet room, and each one landed on her heart like a hammer. But after a few seconds of
Blood dripped the entire way as Landon walked on. It fell from the hem of his coat, his fingertips, and every open wound. The trail it left was long and vivid, a red line stretching from the sect gates all the way into the deep mountains. Every drop carried the pain of heaven's punishment, which was the price he'd paid to keep Aria safe. The pain had burrowed into him like something alive. It gnawed at his mind without rest, every second worse than the last. He nearly went down in the forest more than once. His vision would dim, and he'd feel himself slipping right to the edge of blacking out. But every time, the same thing pulled him back. He'd see Aria's pale little face in that hospital bed. He'd think of the Carvers still waiting for her. Whenever he imagined her waking up and not finding him there, something quiet and stubborn inside him would jolt him back up. He couldn't afford to fall or pass out. If he made it to the sanctuary and stabilized his wounds, he had a chan
As Landon curled his fingertip, a thread of power locked onto Antonius' soul and began to draw it out slowly. "You hurt her, so I'm going to tear your soul apart. You'll have nothing left to move on and reincarnate." There was a soft, quiet sound, and Antonius' soul came apart in midair. It dissolved inch by inch until even the last fading echo of a scream was gone. And with that, every last one of the black-robed attackers who had touched Aria was tortured and killed. The entrance to the Grayburn Sect stood empty now. Nothing remained but the wreckage and the lingering smell of blood. Landon stood alone in the dying light of the sunset, the cold radiating off him like frost in still air. He turned slowly, wanting nothing more than to walk back to Aria and hold her again. But that was when the sky changed. The blood-red sunset vanished in an instant. Dark clouds rolled in from every direction, swallowing the light, and the wind picked up into a howl as thunder cracked across
Even on the edge of total exhaustion, the silver needles in Aria's hands moved like they had a mind of their own. The last elder scrambled and crawled his way to the entrance of the main hall before his legs gave out. He dropped to his knees on the cold stone with a heavy crack. His whole body was shaking as he slammed his forehead against the ground repeatedly. Blood and dirt smeared across his face until it was a mess. His voice came out shredded and raw. "Please spare me. I swear I'll never set foot in Grayburn Sect again!" Aria walked toward him slowly. Her clothes had soaked through with blood long ago, so they were dark red from collar to hem. And every step she took left a faint crimson footprint on the stone stairs. The setting sun draped over her shoulders, but it didn't look like evening light. It looked like bloodstained armor. When she stared down at him, there was no anger in her eyes, just a still and dead kind of coldness. It was the kind of calm that came righ
In Aria's dreams, Kylie often bullied and humiliated her with her group of friends.Aria smiled. Kylie had found her first, saving her the trouble of seeking her out.Warren asked sharply, "Do you need anything?"Kylie affected a startled look. "You're as stern as always, Mr. Carver Senior. I just want
The head chef turned to Oliver in surprise, astonished by the sight of a child with such a voracious appetite.Aria smiled. "Go ahead and roast one for him. He's a big eater."Landon fiddled with his rosary bracelet. "One leg might not be enough. If Mrs. Carver heads to Ludwiten alone, Aria will be wo
Aria's remarkable resilience was the only thing shielding her from the chaos engulfing the Carver family.A selfish, duplicitous father, a cunning sponsee, and a host of scheming aristocratic families circled her like vultures.Landon could barely hold back his anger when he thought of that. He would
Explosive screams echoed through the main hall. Glasses were set down as heads turned, curiosity rippling among the Carvers' business partners."It's Leon!" "Leon as in Leon Carver? He's become so much more handsome since we last saw each other last year!""Jeffrey's here too! Is he really back?""Jeff







